Games are fun, right? Sure they are, unless the gamemaster is the diabolical Jigsaw from the Saw franchise. This twisted killer does not play well with others, as his intention is to kill, in the most gruesome ways possible, the unwilling participants who have become trapped within his trap-laden obstacle courses.
There are currently ten movies within the Saw franchise, nine of which revolve around the serial killer John “Jigsaw Kramer, and one of which revolves around a copycat killer. Despite receiving mainly negative reviews from critics, most of the movies in this horror series have done reasonably well at the box office.
Below we piece together in release date order all of the Saw movies released so far. Do you have a particular favourite? Let us know in the comments below.
Saw
US Release Date: October 29, 2004
World Box Office: $103.9 million
Director: James Wan
Metascore: 46
Main Cast:
Tobin Bell (Jigsaw), Cary Elwes (Lawrence Gordon), Leigh Whannell (Adam), Danny Glover (Detective David Tapp), Ken Leung (Detective Steven Sing), Dina Meyer (Kerry)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
Two strangers awaken in a room with no recollection of how they got there, and soon discover they’re pawns in a deadly game perpetrated by a notorious serial killer.
Nastiest trap:
A victim must crawl through a room filled with razor wire before an automatic door closes and locks him in the room.
Saw II
US Release Date: October 28, 2005
World Box Office: $152.9 million
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Metascore: 40
Main Cast:
Tobin Bell (Jigsaw), Donnie Wahlberg (Eric Matthews), Beverly Mitchell (Laura), Franky G (Xavier), Emmanuelle Vaugier (Addison), Shawnee Smith (Amanda)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
A detective and his team must rescue 8 people trapped in a factory by the twisted serial killer known as Jigsaw.
Nastiest trap:
To retrieve an all-important key, a victim must enter a pit that is filled with loads of dirty syringes.
Saw III
US Release Date: October 27, 2006
World Box Office: $164.9 million
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Metascore: 48
Main Cast:
Tobin Bell (Jigsaw), Shawnee Smith (Amanda), Angus Macfayden (Jeff), Bahar Soomekh (Lynn), Donnie Wallberg (Eric Matthews), Dina Meyer (Kerry), Leigh Whannell (Adam)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
Jigsaw abducts a doctor in order to keep himself alive while he watches his new apprentice put an unlucky citizen named Jeff through a brutal test.
Nastiest trap:
A victim risks drowning in liquified pig juice when trapped at the bottom of a cylindrical vat.
Saw IV
US Release Date: October 26, 2007
World Box Office: $139.4 million
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Metascore: 36
Main Cast:
Tobin Bell (Jigsaw), Scott Patterson (Agent Strahm), Louis Ferreira (Art), Costas Mandylor (Hoffman), Betsy Russell (Jill), Donnie Wahlberg (Eric Matthews)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
Despite Jigsaw’s death, and in order to save the lives of two of his colleagues, Lieutenant Rigg is forced to take part in a new game, which promises to test him to the limit.
Nastiest trap:
A victim gets scalped when her hair is pulled back while trapped in a mechanical chair.
Saw V
US Release Date: October 24, 2008
World Box Office: $118.2 million
Director: David Hackl
Metascore: 20
Main Cast:
Tobin Bell (Jigsaw), Scott Patterson (Agent Strahm), Costas Mandylor (Hoffman), Betsy Russell (Jill), Julie Benz (Brit), Meagan Good (Luba)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
Following Jigsaw’s grisly demise, Mark Hoffman is commended as a hero, but Agent Strahm is suspicious, and delves into Hoffman’s past. Meanwhile, another group of people are put through a series of gruesome tests.
Nastiest trap:
A convicted murderer wakes up to find himself strapped to a table with a giant swinging blade positioned above him.
Saw VI
US Release Date: October 23, 2009
World Box Office: $69.8 million
Director: Kevin Greutert
Metascore: 30
Main Cast:
Tobin Bell (Jigsaw), Costas Mandylor (Hoffman), Mark Rolston (Erickson), Betsy Russell (Jill), Shawnee Smith (Amanda), Peter Outerbridge (William)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
Agent Strahm is dead, and FBI agent Erickson draws nearer to Hoffman. Meanwhile, a pair of insurance executives find themselves in another game set by Jigsaw.
Nastiest trap:
A Russian Roulette-type game is played out as the victims revolve around a loaded shotgun.
Saw 3D
US Release Date: October 29, 2010
World Box Office: $136.2 million
Director: Kevin Greutert
Metascore: 24
Main Cast:
Tobin Bell (Jigsaw), Costas Mandylor (Hoffman), Betsy Russell (Jill), Cary Elwes (Dr. Gordon), Sean Patrick Flanery (Bobby), Chad Donella (Gibson), Gina Holden (Joyce)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
As a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw’s brutal legacy, a group of Jigsaw survivors gathers to seek the support of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen, a man whose own dark secrets unleash a new wave of terror.
Nastiest trap:
One victim is glued to the driver’s seat of a car from which he must escape before the other victims are killed by various traps connected to the car.
Jigsaw
US Release Date: October 27, 2017
World Box Office: $104.2 million
Directors: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
Metascore: 39
Main Cast:
Tobin Bell (Jigsaw), Matt Passmore (Logan), Callum Keith Rennie (Detective Halloran), Hannah Emily Anderson (Eleanor), Clé Bennett (Detective Hunt), Laura Vandervoort (Anna)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
Bodies are turning up around the city, each having met a uniquely gruesome demise. As the investigation proceeds, evidence points to one suspect: John Kramer, the man known as Jigsaw, who has been dead for over 10 years.
Nastiest trap:
A victim has a collar wrapped around his head with several lasers attached that threaten to slice through his skull.
Spiral
US Release Date: May 14, 2021
World Box Office: $40.6 million
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Metascore: 40
Main Cast:
Chris Rock (Detective Banks), Samuel L. Jackson (Marcus Banks), Max Minghella (Detective Schenk), Marisol Nichols (Captain Garza)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
A criminal mastermind unleashes a twisted form of justice in Spiral, the terrifying new chapter from the book of Saw.
Nastiest trap:
A victim is strung up by his tongue in a subway tunnel. As a train hurtles towards him, he can stay where he is and get pulverized or leap from the platform he is standing on and rip out his tongue.
Saw X
US Release Date: September 29, 2023
World Box Office: $101 million
Director: Kevin Greutert
Metascore: 60
Main Cast:
Tobin Bell (Jigsaw), Shawnee Smith (Amanda), Synnøve Macody Lund (Cecilia), Steven Brand (Parker), Renata Vaca (Gabriela), Costas Mandylor (Hoffman)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
A sick and desperate John travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure in hopes of a miracle cure for his cancer only to discover the entire operation is a scam to defraud the most vulnerable.
Nastiest trap:
Currently unknown.
Let us know your favourite Saw movie in the comments below!